“Hope to God. Be strong and He will give you courage, and
hope to God.” (Ps. 27:14)

Why does the psalm repeat the phrase “hope to God"?

The Sages learned from this repetition that we should be
tenacious in prayer. “If a person prays but is not
answered, he should pray again” (Berachot 32a).

Yet one could ask: If God did not answer my prayer the first time,
what will I accomplish by praying again?

Step by Step

The answer to this question requires understanding the very essence
of prayer.

The purpose of prayer is to elevate the soul by bolstering its powers with images
of holiness and perfection. There are an infinite variety of
such mental images, and God knows exactly which ones are
needed to perfect each individual soul. Divine wisdom
determines what we are lacking — thus providing the stimulus for our
prayers — so that the soul may perfect itself in the
appropriate area.

On occasion, a particular visualization in all of its aspects may not
succeed in penetrating the depths of the soul. In such
cases, acceptance of the prayer is delayed until the prayer
is repeated sufficiently so that soul will fully assimilate this image of holiness.

We should not be discouraged if our prayers are not answered
outright. All worldly matters have the
potential to provide spiritual gains of eternal value.
People are usually disheartened if they do not
succeed easily; but if we are aware that our actions are gradually bringing us
closer towards our goal, though the path be long and difficult, we will be encouraged by
our incremental progress.

Therefore the psalm repeats the phrase “hope to God.” The
basis of hope is recognizing the value of these
prerequisite steps. We must realize
that each prayer, every holy aspiration and image, brings us that
much closer to our goal. Not having fully arrived, we need
to “be strong and take courage,” to gather strength to continue our spiritual
efforts, “and hope to God.”